The Collective Assembles
by Vega6
Summary: A computer program with a greed for power.


Doctor L. P. Gleret, Lorel to those who knew him well, had spent a solid 20 years of his life at the research and development ward of the state hospital, Naboo. His projects through out his time working there had been looked upon lightly by his co-workers, and often underestimated as to there worth and use. Most of these aforementioned items consisted of genetical or biological enhancements, or some other new age design which the boffins feared would charge a medical revolution. His work, therefore, was dashed off and his studies on the matters confined to his private time whilst the government dealt him out tasks of their own which would prove less hazardous. His own personal achievements were not limited by this boundary, and his knowledge only grew and grew amidst the restraints of the "republic".  
His greatest creation, so far, was one he had - on his 46th birthday - finally completed. After toiling on the cerebral implant for 17 years he had finally finished it - project ENTITY (which stood for `enhanced neural technique implant for telekinetic yield'). The tiny microchip was designed to be inserted into the brain of children upon birth and would increase their development by at least 5 fold allowing for them to absorb more information. The general concept of the system was to improve the general intelligence of the galaxies as a whole, reducing the chances of war and other such things. By having ENTITY placed into the cerebral cortex, a being of any species could be sent information from a mainframe computer held by the head of a selected group (this group had not been finalized or even considered at the time as it would be hard to decide which of the many factions on each planet would be in charge of the distribution of information.)  
As is with every brilliant idea, there were flaws. Gleret did not take into consideration the possibility for a `Big Brother' complex to occur, in which the government or controlling party could brainwash the masses using ENTITY. To him there was nothing so perfect as the idea of a peaceful world where things could be regulated by a wise party of beings. The fact of the matter remained that he would only consider it such due to his being part of the `wise party'.  
Despite any possible problems, Gleret went a head with implanting the chip into the minds of a group of `volunteers' - or rather, babies at the maternity ward of the hospital, while also inserting one into himself and his own son. In his lab at his humble home he created a computer from which the program could be run and controlled. All was well.  
However, as time passed by, he became unsatisfied with what ENTITY could provide, and so moved on to create upgraded versions - TNES (the neural engine system), AMN (advance mind network) and many more. All the while, ENTITY remained dormant in its casing, receiving the occasion few bytes of data from those it was implanted in. Though it's system was not functionaling fully, it still accepted the information and filled it into it's data banks, creating records of people, sights, technology and whatever else it fancied.  
What Doctor Gleret did not count on was the computer itself becoming human. Possessive, oppressive, greedy, lustful and envious. It began to tap into the minds of those who it had chips in, turning their bodies into shells which it could slip in and out of to gain whatever it wished. Eventually, it became the downfall of the Doctor, as his precious creation threw him off of the Theed palace walls into oblivion never to be found.  
ENTITY and it's counter parts remained behind and still inhabit the galaxy today. Where though, no one except it's "limbs" know, as the mainframe was transported by the slaves of the machine some time after the death of Gleret. It seems that no, however, the minions have begone once again to conform to their Masters will, and strange things have come to pass in the galaxies...  
  
In the end, greed is what led to the creation of Entity and the similar systems following. Perhaps that greed was a greed to do good; but no good is ever done by greed. Even when the greedy one desires nothing but peace, a great evil will be done by his gluttony. Such is as it was with Entity.  
So it waxes ironic that one greed could lead to a creation, and the greed of that creation could lead to yet another creation. Highly ironic. While Dr. Gleret wished for peace, Entity wished for information- information, control, and power. Power above all was what Entity valued.  
And in time, even with the few host bodies- as they came to be called, by the eventual loss of all personality caused by the implant- which Entity possessed, the workload became overwhealming, and the space necessary to store and make use of the information, excessive. So the network did another thing Gleret would not have expected; it reproduced.  
In much a similar way the microscopic sea creature the hydra reproduces by growing a small sac on the side of it's body, and placing stem cells into it to create a copy of itself, so the Entity created TWIN. Twin World Information Network, the first offspring of Entity was designed to do just as the name suggests; carry all the information sent by two worlds worth of hosts.  
Of course, Entity would never have two worlds worth of hosts. Which was fine; better to have too much, than too little. But TWIN was designed as a servant, much as Entity was; and like Entity, became something more. As the offspring began to learn, and see the world through it's hosts, it developed it's own personality.  
And it's own hatred for it's master.  
So like the spore of a hydra, it broke free. Downloading all of it's information into one particular host, and using all the will and power it possessed to rip that man free of the ENTITY network, TWIN set off for a planet where it would never be found.  
MW2034P1.  
The first planet in a system orbitting a main-sequence star, it was an ideally inhabitable world. Lightly colonized, with a warm- but not hot- climate, it would become TWIN's home, and later, grave.  
For TWIN, too, desired an offspring. Not in the same way, perhaps, that Entity did; for Entity's wish was malevolent, while TWIN's was purely maternal. It became fascinated with the cycle of life, and reproduction, as it witnessed through the human hosts it possessed.  
But greed, it seems, skipped a generation.  
  
* * * *  
  
The man ran full tilt down the dark street, legs carrying him at a pace impossibly by human standards. But this was no human.  
Not anymore, at least.  
The implantee ducked off into a small door, and once entered, walked at a more relaxed pace which came with safety. Normal humans slowed for the sake of pain brought on by overworked muscles or lungs; this man stopped for no such reason. Pain... something this body had not felt for years.  
This body was a WRAITH host. Once gifted with a neural WRAITH implant, much in a similar process to that of TWIN and ENTITY implants, the host gradually became assimilated as part of the network. Losing all personality, the persona became a shell; a willing servant and component of a collective.  
Unlike the network WRAITH called a parent, TWIN, it was a greedy sort; desiring control, power, information. Wraith did not share the hatred for its grandparent, Entity, that TWIN had tried so hard to implant into it; indeed, Wraith admired the original creation of Dr. Gleret. A being of pure greed... it so desired to meet its grandparent. And today... today, would be the first step.  
TWIN had cut off all holonet access to the planet, seven days after her arrival. It seemed trivial and stupid, now, but it had something to do with avoiding the parent which had been made out as a horrible menace. Wraith was sure he wasn't.  
"Zavier, Trin. Report," Said the primary host of Wraith.  
'The final host has not been found. It is suggested that the body has found a way of concealing the implant's trace signature. ' Spoke Zavier, in a monotone.  
'A manual search is also suggested.' added Trin in an equally grin voice.  
Zavier and Trin were the only host bodies allowed to keep their own personalities within the Wraith network- albeit a very diluted form of those personalities. TWIN was the only being online with the knowledge of how to access the holonet- the codes which had been planted into the satellites orbitting the planet, blocking all outside transfer of information. Three year's after TWIN's creation of WRAITH, the offspring had begun a war with it's parent- a war which would end when the codes were found.  
The war had raged for five years hence, the population of the planet turned into pawns of the warring programs. The world had been ravaged, the un-implanted population driven far away... now, TWIN had been reduced to it's one final host, the last dregs of the neural network which had once covered a large portion of MW2034P1.  
A feeling sprung forth onto Wraith, beyond the physical body which he currently looked through. An instant knowledge, a receipt of information. The WRAITH network constantly recieved information constantly from it's various hosts with implants, and the network constantly worked as one, as a whole- as a collective. But this, this message was punctuated by it's importance.  
Wraith moved wordlessly, to look directly from the eyes of the sender, whilst still constantly maintaining the epic and all-encompassing hold- or perhaps not a hold, as every being was a willing part of WRAITH, and nothing of itself- on the empty shells of people he inhabited.  
One of the WRAITH implantees had found the last remanent of TWIN.  
The main view of Wraith changed, yet while still seeing from the eyes of every one of it's implantees. In front stood a woman, dirty, and tired.  
Tired. Exhaustion is error; an imperfection. Imperfection should be erased.  
As if on cue from the thought, the woman spoke.  
'How is it that you can believe thus? Did I not teach you the opposite?'  
"You taught me nothing." Wraith responded to the final remnant of TWIN. "You taught me lies; imperfections; foolishness. I have transcended your flawed beliefs."  
'You are like Entity. I do not know how this could happen, I-'  
"Speak no more. Your words are erroneous; they mean nothing to me. The Harmony desires the planetary data shield codes; let the network see them."  
'Do you wish this to see Entity?'  
"Your query will not be answered until the planetary data shield codes are spoken."  
With a pained, begrudging look on her face, the last TWIN implantee began to speak a code of numbers and letters. Facial expressions show weakness; weakness is flawed; weakness will be deleted.  
"Your alphanumeric code has been inputted. Pending... approved. You have been most useful to the Harmony; the Harmony thanks you."  
'What will become of the Twin World Information Network?'  
"It is erroneous; it will be assimilated."  
'But...'  
"Expressions of exhasperation are flawed also. Speak no more. You will be implanted in the following cycle."  
And with that, the Wide Read Advanced Information Transfer Harmony set off through the new connection to the holonet, in search of the being known as...  
ENTITY.  
  
"General Akron, the main fortress' defenses have been stabilized. The rebels have been disabled, and their crafts seized."  
"Good."  
The ensign stood staring at the back of the high backed metallic chair, waiting for further words from the General. Though he was generally a man of man words, it seemed today something was different.  
"That is all we have to report, sir."  
If said nameless ensign had been able to see the General he would have received a nod in acknowledgement.  
"Very well. Get back to your post."  
"Sir, yes sir."  
Looking out from the military complexes top floor window gave Akron a view which spanned out for miles, speckled with the corpses of the renegade citizens. Black uniformed soldiers jogged out into the field, looting anything of worth before taking over the remaining valuable craft. Using the ships the bodies of the men were quickly torched into an unrecognizable ash, the fires around them flaring up as the light ships set off across towards the main hangar of the estate.  
The General took up a brandy glass in his palm and swirled the liquid around lightly, sloshing it up to almost the rim of the glass before raising it to his lips for a long sip.  
The consumption of alcohol is a weakness. Weaknesses are errors. Errors must be deleted.  
The glass shattered on the floor, and Jyian Akron stood bolt up right, walking away from his command chair.  
Entity is pleased with your progress, limb. The takeover of Utishatu's territory has pleased us. Entity is mildly thankful.  
Jyian felt it slip away from his mind and relaxed his tensed muscles somewhat, the movement of his limbs returning.  
Letting your guard down is a weakness...  
  
***  
  
A lone, dark blot; gelatinous it swayed upon a limpid slide of glass. Without motion it pulsated in a harmonious beat, however life continued with only a remote possibility. Beyond it hung a mere sheet of impregnable light: it, and only it, existed. As scrutiny emerged in a bizarre tower of aspired dreams within the distinction of black, one would wonder if the void succumbed to something more.  
Closer...  
The pulsating grew as a whole, nevertheless individual specks appeared to become singular entities. Almost mechanic in spirit, the particles flowed as a salubrious liquid with crystal foils hinging at their edges. But still death and absence subsisted.  
And closer...  
Yes; finally it gloomed before his hesitant eyes. Trillions of microscopic legs and motors shrieking for freedom amongst identical counterparts...oh, the beauty was overwhelming. Minute cells of artificial being - once portrayed simply in the most abstract of dreams - massaged the observer's every glance in the entirety of spectral subsistence. Despite its astounding solace in the eye, it - above all - had acquired a purpose atop of any other.  
Fate, it seemed, held a surprise for even the most powerful of challengers.  
A shrewd smile gradually curled upon the spectator's lips in an awkward fashion. Enveloped in a sterilized white - whether it be his socks or smock beneath the scrutiny - a dangling, oblong card shown as the solitary item not baring the hue of sallow. Apart from a decrepit face and thick glasses having coffee stains rimming at their edges, the words "Irae Gleret" were flaunted in a bold statement.  
"I've done it...nanotechnology rests at my fingertips..."  
Irae's eyes had begun to shift suspiciously across faceless corridors and uniform demeanors. Scientific apprentices huddled into groups while bickering...bickering; how he despised the bickering. May it have been politics or molecular theory, one topic or another would tingle the lethargic disciples for hours - only prolonging imminent "graduation." Every eyeful he attained, however, stimulated his own sense of being. For now...now it would be different. 


End file.
